KOFU--More than 1,000 people in samurai costumes marched through Kofu city and into the Guinness World Records on April 7 as part of the Shingen-ko Festival.
The annual festival, honoring the 16th-century “daimyo” feudal lord Takeda Shingen, featured 1,061 “samurai” as part of its famed parade of warriors, which was recognized by Guinness as “the largest gathering of (contemporary people dressed as) samurai” in the world.
According to the British publisher of the world-record authority, a samurai should wear “do” (chest and back armor), “kusazuri” (dangling covers), “suneate” (leg armor) and “teko” (manifers). He should wear either a “kabuto” helmet, headband or an “eboshi” hat on his head, and should have a sword in a holster on his waist.
As members of two warrior groups gathered in a roped-off area south of JR Kofu Station in Yamanashi Prefecture, two Guinness judges checked each member, counter in hand. There was a burst of applause when the announcement of the world record was made during the closing ceremony.
Actor Ikki Sawamura, who was dressed as Takeda Shingen, received a Guinness World Records certificate from a Guinness official.
Among the costumed warriors on hand were 29-year-old twin sisters Hiroko and Sachiko Miki from Osaka Prefecture. Both admitted being so-called female history buffs dubbed “rekijo.”
“We applied to take part in the festival to make up for missing out last time, when the festival was canceled due to the Great East Japan Earthquake,” Hiroko said. “Only in Japan can we challenge a Guinness record like this. I hope many people will become interested in history.”
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